What was the Industrial Revolution?
Industrial Revolution scavenger hunt
Important people
Inventions/ Technology Environmental impacts Living conditions Labour Banking and finance |
Using the internet, investigate each category and find at least 5 pieces of information on each category.
Add a brief description for each: names, locations, descriptions, importance, etc. |
To what extent was The Industrial Revolution a revolution of the mind?
The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural.
The technological changes included the following:
the use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel,
the use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal, the steam engine, electricity, petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine,
the invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy,
a new organisation of work known as the factory system, which entailed increased division of labour and specialisation of function,
important developments in transportation and communication, including the steam locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio, and
the increasing application of science to industry. These technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured goods.
The technological changes included the following:
the use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel,
the use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal, the steam engine, electricity, petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine,
the invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy,
a new organisation of work known as the factory system, which entailed increased division of labour and specialisation of function,
important developments in transportation and communication, including the steam locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio, and
the increasing application of science to industry. These technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured goods.
There were also many new developments in nonindustrial spheres, including the following:
agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population,
economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade,
political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of an industrialised society,
sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities, the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and
cultural transformations of a broad order. Workers acquired new and distinctive skills, and their relation to their tasks shifted; instead of being craftsmen working with hand tools, they became machine operators, subject to factory discipline.
Finally, there was a psychological change: confidence in the ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.
agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population,
economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade,
political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of an industrialised society,
sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities, the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and
cultural transformations of a broad order. Workers acquired new and distinctive skills, and their relation to their tasks shifted; instead of being craftsmen working with hand tools, they became machine operators, subject to factory discipline.
Finally, there was a psychological change: confidence in the ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.
Mass production
What was mass production and how did it transform economies, culture and society?
Almost everything in this day and age is most probably mass produced with machines and technology playing a big part in its production, manufacturing and distribution to increase efficiency and reliability while reducing cost.
Mass production has its roots in the British textile industry which revolutionised production and manufacturing. Inventions like the ‘flying shuttle by John Kay’ increased the speed of and amount of cloth that could be woven which increased the demand for yarn which led to developments like the ‘spinning jenny and the water frame to increase yarn production’. These processes were then mechanised by new energy developments like ‘water power and soon after, steam and coal power perfected by James Watt’. After these developments clothes didn’t have to be hand weaved by labourers rather machines that dramatically reduced production time.
Before the Industrial Revolution one worker used to make a product from start to finish but during the Industrial Revolution Adam Smith introduced the new method of specialisation. Smith showed “If ten workers were making pins each could produce about a dozen in a day however if each of them specialised in individual tasks they could produce thousands working together” (Smith, A, 1776). Specialisation made factories more productive and allowed products to be mass produced at a cheaper cost. The Industrial Revolution made two big changes to factories which made them more productive - new inventions and developments, and specialisation which increased efficiency and gave birth to mass production which changed the world we live in today.
The Industrial Revolution had a large impact on people and society. Before the Industrial Revolution 80% of people lived in the country side as farmers, after the Industrial Revolution this statistic was reversed with 80% living in cities and urban settlements. This caused ‘the population of Britain to quadruple after the Industrial Revolution’ and cities experienced rapid urbanisation as factories and mills began to pop up in urban areas. Women and children now went to work and didn’t stay at home as there was an easy way to earn an income. And as more businesses sprang up, more and more jobs were created which meant that more people could earn an income and this spurred population growth.
The increase in factories changed the demand for many jobs. Skilled weavers and craftsmen, for example, lost their jobs to more productive machines. The famous economist Adam Smith said “It is truly lamentable to behold so many thousands of men who formerly earned 20 to 30 shillings per week, now compelled to live on 5, 4, or even less” (Smith, A, 1776). While business owners and investors made huge profits many workers found themselves poorer and dis-empowered.
The Industrial Revolution changed the way that goods are produced and gave birth to mass production by the division of labour and the increasing prevalence of machines in factories. People and society were changed as an impact of mass production, with cheaper consumer goods becoming available to the majority of society, a shift from rural to urban living and the improvement in people's diets that partly led to a population explosion. Its effects are still felt today.
Mass production has its roots in the British textile industry which revolutionised production and manufacturing. Inventions like the ‘flying shuttle by John Kay’ increased the speed of and amount of cloth that could be woven which increased the demand for yarn which led to developments like the ‘spinning jenny and the water frame to increase yarn production’. These processes were then mechanised by new energy developments like ‘water power and soon after, steam and coal power perfected by James Watt’. After these developments clothes didn’t have to be hand weaved by labourers rather machines that dramatically reduced production time.
Before the Industrial Revolution one worker used to make a product from start to finish but during the Industrial Revolution Adam Smith introduced the new method of specialisation. Smith showed “If ten workers were making pins each could produce about a dozen in a day however if each of them specialised in individual tasks they could produce thousands working together” (Smith, A, 1776). Specialisation made factories more productive and allowed products to be mass produced at a cheaper cost. The Industrial Revolution made two big changes to factories which made them more productive - new inventions and developments, and specialisation which increased efficiency and gave birth to mass production which changed the world we live in today.
The Industrial Revolution had a large impact on people and society. Before the Industrial Revolution 80% of people lived in the country side as farmers, after the Industrial Revolution this statistic was reversed with 80% living in cities and urban settlements. This caused ‘the population of Britain to quadruple after the Industrial Revolution’ and cities experienced rapid urbanisation as factories and mills began to pop up in urban areas. Women and children now went to work and didn’t stay at home as there was an easy way to earn an income. And as more businesses sprang up, more and more jobs were created which meant that more people could earn an income and this spurred population growth.
The increase in factories changed the demand for many jobs. Skilled weavers and craftsmen, for example, lost their jobs to more productive machines. The famous economist Adam Smith said “It is truly lamentable to behold so many thousands of men who formerly earned 20 to 30 shillings per week, now compelled to live on 5, 4, or even less” (Smith, A, 1776). While business owners and investors made huge profits many workers found themselves poorer and dis-empowered.
The Industrial Revolution changed the way that goods are produced and gave birth to mass production by the division of labour and the increasing prevalence of machines in factories. People and society were changed as an impact of mass production, with cheaper consumer goods becoming available to the majority of society, a shift from rural to urban living and the improvement in people's diets that partly led to a population explosion. Its effects are still felt today.
1. Using the video above, create a flow diagram that shows the chronology and nature of change shown across the Industrial Revolution. Include:
- key terms
- dates and data
- concepts
- problems
- benefits
Assessment
1. Where, when and who built the first commercially successful water powered cotton spinning mill?
2. Before machinery and factories, how were most manufactured goods made?
3. Where was the first great industrial city?
4. What were the energy changes that powered the Industrial Revolution?
5. How did the new canal and railway systems of transportation increase production and industrial output?
6. Explain the link between factories and urbanisation.
7. What social changes came out workers experience of the new factory system?
8. What is the evidence for continuity, rather than change, during the Industrial Revolution?
2. Before machinery and factories, how were most manufactured goods made?
3. Where was the first great industrial city?
4. What were the energy changes that powered the Industrial Revolution?
5. How did the new canal and railway systems of transportation increase production and industrial output?
6. Explain the link between factories and urbanisation.
7. What social changes came out workers experience of the new factory system?
8. What is the evidence for continuity, rather than change, during the Industrial Revolution?
Socialism
What is Socialism and why did it find its roots in the Industrial Revolution?
From the often brutal and deep-rooted changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, Socialism emerged.
Socialism describes any political or economic theory that says the community, rather than individuals, should own and manage property and natural resources.
The term “socialism” has been applied to very different economic and political systems throughout history, including utopianism, anarchism, Soviet communism and social democracy. These systems vary widely in structure, but they share an opposition to an unrestricted market economy, and the belief that public ownership of the means of production (and making money) will lead to better distribution of wealth and a more egalitarian society.
Socialism emerged as a response to the expanding capitalist system. It presented an alternative, aimed at improving the lot of the working class and creating a more egalitarian society. In its emphasis on public ownership of the means of production, socialism contrasted sharply with capitalism, which is based around a free market system and private ownership.
It was Karl Marx, undoubtedly the most influential theorist of socialism, who set out the most important and far reaching argument for socialism. For Marx, society was made up of classes: When certain classes controlled the means of production, they used that power to exploit the labor class. In their 1848 work The Communist Manifesto, Marx and his collaborator, Friedrich Engels, argued that true “scientific socialism” could be established only after a revolutionary class struggle, with the workers emerging on top.
Marx’s emphasis on the revolutionary clash between capital and labor came to dominate most socialist thought, but other brands of socialism continued to develop. Christian socialism, or collective societies formed around Christian religious principles. Anarchism saw not just capitalism but government as harmful and unnecessary. Social democracy held that socialist aims could be achieved through gradual political reform rather than revolution.
Socialism describes any political or economic theory that says the community, rather than individuals, should own and manage property and natural resources.
The term “socialism” has been applied to very different economic and political systems throughout history, including utopianism, anarchism, Soviet communism and social democracy. These systems vary widely in structure, but they share an opposition to an unrestricted market economy, and the belief that public ownership of the means of production (and making money) will lead to better distribution of wealth and a more egalitarian society.
Socialism emerged as a response to the expanding capitalist system. It presented an alternative, aimed at improving the lot of the working class and creating a more egalitarian society. In its emphasis on public ownership of the means of production, socialism contrasted sharply with capitalism, which is based around a free market system and private ownership.
It was Karl Marx, undoubtedly the most influential theorist of socialism, who set out the most important and far reaching argument for socialism. For Marx, society was made up of classes: When certain classes controlled the means of production, they used that power to exploit the labor class. In their 1848 work The Communist Manifesto, Marx and his collaborator, Friedrich Engels, argued that true “scientific socialism” could be established only after a revolutionary class struggle, with the workers emerging on top.
Marx’s emphasis on the revolutionary clash between capital and labor came to dominate most socialist thought, but other brands of socialism continued to develop. Christian socialism, or collective societies formed around Christian religious principles. Anarchism saw not just capitalism but government as harmful and unnecessary. Social democracy held that socialist aims could be achieved through gradual political reform rather than revolution.
1. Explain Marx's theory of "alienation" of workers within the industrial system. Give an example to illustrate this theory.
2. Why does the factory system, mechanisation and the "division of labour" make work insecure?
3. Why does Marx see Capitalism as exploitation?
4. What does Marx argue should be the result of mass production and industrial efficiency?
5. What did Marx see as the biggest problem between Capitalism and society?
6. State the key ideas suggested by Marx for a socialist future.
7. Are socialist ideas still relevant today? Explain your thinking using present day examples (e.g. Amazon and tax, working conditions in poorer countries).
2. Why does the factory system, mechanisation and the "division of labour" make work insecure?
3. Why does Marx see Capitalism as exploitation?
4. What does Marx argue should be the result of mass production and industrial efficiency?
5. What did Marx see as the biggest problem between Capitalism and society?
6. State the key ideas suggested by Marx for a socialist future.
7. Are socialist ideas still relevant today? Explain your thinking using present day examples (e.g. Amazon and tax, working conditions in poorer countries).